Musings: Adding spice to Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving — ah, what a great day.

But what about having to deal with an annoying relative or two? Well, consider that these same relatives may think that you are just as annoying.

So, let’s call a truce and concentrate on something we can agree on. That could be only a short conversation, but let’s give it a try.

Better yet, we can explore the stories about our families. The old guys at the table will love that. First of all, they are the ones, along with the women, of course, with many of the stories. In addition, they have had the time to let those stories incubate and create better tales than the ones that actually happened. Since I have become one of those “old guys,” I like that alternative.

I came from a family with six children, and oh how my father liked to tell stories. We kids began to notice that, over the years, as those stories were retold, they got better with age, kind of like the gallon jugs of wine that Dad kept under his chair that he frequently received from a friend. My father was a hero to us, but sometimes we would wink at each other as if to say, “That’s a new wrinkle.”

A next-door neighbor would stop by and tell some of his own big tales.

To have these two guys in the same room was a little like having a front-row seat at a liars contest. There were some elements of fact in all their stories, but the enhancements made the stories new and fun.

We knew there were exaggerations, but so what? It was fun, and that is what should be a part of everyone’s Thanksgiving celebration. And for those families that are fortunate to have such storytellers among them, it sure will be a happy Thanksgiving.

— Ernie Fazio, Centerport